Summary: Ink wants the jelly.
A/N: There are over 4,000 words of this nonsense- so godspeed, readers. Godspeed.
Inspired by cs.mt's AU, Unspecified Alternate.
Ink silently strolled along a beach, soft sand sneaking between his metatarsals/phalanges and in the open holes on the bottom of his stockings. A delicate smile laid across his jaws as he admired the scenery: clear blue ocean waters like right out of a painting, beautiful tan (almost white) sands littered with shiny shells, lightly clouded skies adorned by a brilliant yellow sun, and vibrant, lush foliage covered in all sorts of big and small colorful flowers. But everything paled in comparison to the gentle, salty sea breeze rustling the plants on the seaside and delivering clean air to the island. It was so much different from the musty, damp air in the Underground or the occasionally polluted, sometimes difficult to breathe air of the Surface.
A nice change of pace, Ink thought.
Not that he intended to end up at this little haven on purpose. The Guardian of AUs had been patrolling around the Multiverse sole-style and couldn't help becoming sidetracked by the numerous astounding universes he visited. From magical lands containing the greatest fantasies to desolate terrains, he stopped to admire them all. Maybe even getting himself a wanted poster along the way. (Because, apparently, one may not steal seahorses in the underwater wild west.) His hasty escape from the law led him here.
As the artist continued his walk, listening to the various sounds of nature, his eyelights shifted to a green question mark and yellow hourglass when he noticed an odd object standing out against the distant shoreline. It seemed larger than a mollusk and richer in color than the white, tan, and pink seashells dotting the sands. Perhaps a marine animal washed ashore?
Ink's smile split into an excited grin. He shot a glance over his shoulder at the enormous paintbrush strapped to his back before making a beeline toward the mysterious thing, saying enthusiastically, "Broomie, there's something in the sand. Let's poke it and see if it's dead!"
When his footsteps came to a halt, the soulless skeleton stood in front of a deep blue gelatinous blob with a dimly glowing, four-leaf clover-esque pattern on its top. Crisp ocean waves lapped over his feet. However, they were nowhere near strong enough to pull the glob back into the sea. Curious, he leaned closer and extended an arm - the phalange at the end of his hand more than ready to jab the jelly substance - only to recoil slightly as thin tendrils rose from around his soon-to-be victim, wiggling at him aggressively.
Wide eye sockets blinked down at the waving blob. The colorful eyelights within shifted between numerous shapes and colors, settling on a pink heart and an orange sun; A hint of recognition laid in their depths. For the gelatinous glob was, in fact, not a thing but a creature like Ink had suspected. And not just any creature: a jellyfish.
"It's so tiny and angry!" The artist squealed, adding to his inanimate companion, "It would look great in my fish tank, don't you think?"
Broomie said nothing in response, but Ink knew in his heart that the giant art tool agreed. After all, the color scheme of the medium-sized aquarium at home seemed, for lack of better words, drab. Despite the abundant green (occasionally brown/yellow), hardy plants and shiny glass pebbles added for decoration. The red, yellow, and clear shrimp dwelling in it hardly provided any cooler colors to the environment, so the tank could use a nice splash of blue drifting around to liven up the place.
Decision made, the Guardian of AUs crouched lower to the ground and outstretched a cupped hand on each side of the sea critter. Shutters ran through the jellyfish's jiggly form the closer the hands grew. Soon after the tremors started, it flattened itself further on the sand to make itself hard to pick up and began waggling its tendril more vigorously (in what it probably thought was a threatening manner).
Ink cooed at the adorable little blob, daring to push his hands a mere millimeter out of striking range, and spoke in the softest voice he could muster. "Aw. Don't be scared, little jelly. I'm just going to tear you away from the only home you've ever known and keep you in a glass cage for my own amusement!"
Those words seemed to motivate it to do the impossible. With unfounded speed and strength, the gelatinous being used its tendrils to propel itself away from the artist's cupped hands and into the shore's shallow waters. The place where it proceeded to zip into the deep, to freedom without fear of captivity.
"Maybe I should have phrased that differently." He murmured. A blue teardrop and purple exclamation point had replaced the previous shapes/colors his eyelights had taken, and a frown tugged at the corners of his teeth whilst watching his target grow smaller and smaller with the increasing distance between them.
Unfortunately for the jellyfish, the monster attempting to capture it did not know when to give up- if his reputation regarding decades worth of failed efforts to befriend Error was any indication of his stubbornness. Ink's eyelights quickly shifted to a red target and orange triangle. He then cast Broomie and his vials aside, causing both to drop carelessly on the sand. (The delicate, corked glasses filled to the brim with various colors luckily landed unscathed.) Little hesitation showed on the artist's face before his bony legs and feet plunged into knee-deep tides, where he started to wade farther and farther out to sea for his squishy prize.
Wading soon switched into swimming since the sands sloped deeper and deeper under the water's surface, leading down to the ocean floor. Regardless, the soulless skeleton kept an even pace. His steady movements easily allowed him to gain some ground (or, in this case, water). All the while, his determined eyelights remained solely focused on the creature. Except for when he got a tiny bit distracted by a colorful ocean-dweller that looked like a seizure given fish form, but that aside, he stayed more or less focused on his goal.
The goal being: catch the pretty blue blob, and worry about whatever consequences the action would have later.
He dove under the water in an attempt to get into a better position to catch the jellyfish. However, seconds after he slipped below the water's surface a clump of seaweed attacked his skull and forced him to halt a moment to bat it away. Nature's ocean flora, unfortunately, had no plans of leaving him any time soon, persistently sticking to him despite his efforts to remove it. Ultimately, Ink had no other choice but to keep the new leafy, green hair if he didn't want to lose his target. So, begrudgingly, he swam onward; Possibly trying to ignore how pretty the seaweed looked as it flowed behind him like a majestic mane.
After what seemed like hours (but was more accurately ten minutes), the artist finally began to close in on the gelatinous being. That was until one blob became two- then three, four, and suddenly twenty jellyfish aimlessly floated in the open waters, hiding the one he followed up till now. His eyelights frantically scanned the crowd, searching for a hint or a distinguishable difference between these jellyfish and the one he desperately wished to catch.
Nothing stood out at first because all the beings were the same (blobby, squishy, and roundish), so he started looking more closely for specific details. The surrounding jellyfish held a deep purple-blue hue, while the one he sought had a more blue with a hint of purple color. Their behaviors seemed drastically different as well. These little blobs drifted along the ocean currents without a care in the world, gentle and calm. His target wiggled angrily at things and displayed aggressive behavior- Like Error! Except Ink could not recall a time when the destroyer wiggled his arms or strings at something in hatred.
Maybe he should ask. Or, better yet, paint a picture!
The soulless skeleton shook his skull. He was getting distracted, and as great as those distractions were, his self-assigned mission held utmost importance. Besides, he could pester the glitch about it later.
Mismatched eyelights returned to studying the vicinity. They flitted from jellyfish to jellyfish, finally settling on a suspicious-seeming blob that almost appeared as though it tried to blend in. Keyword being "tried." The way it shifted side-to-side looked far too calculated, and it actively strove to float on the outskirts of the group- not too close to any of its comrades and more or less away from a particular skeleton.
A random small fish darted towards the peculiar gelatinous creature once a few moments of skeptical observation passed, causing tendrils to lash out at it and scare it elsewhere.
Ink's eye sockets narrowed. Tiny bubbles slipped from between his jaws while he released a silent "hmm." More bubbles stirred as his arms and legs began to gingerly paddle him beyond what he hoped to be the sea critter's field of vision. Then, with the speed of molasses, he circled (hopefully) behind it. Still, the artist did not want to take any chances and miss his opportunity to capture the jellyfish. Good thing he had an idea. A generally frowned upon idea. A black/white gaster blaster popped into existence behind him. The back of its skull sat flush against his spine; each spike protruding from it had been rounded and shortened - for safety, of course - and its dangerous, sharp-toothed muzzle angled downward, facing the sandy ocean floor. Thin, inky bonds soon manifested to fix the attack to his back- similar to a backpack. A manic grin stretched across his skull afterward, and the corners of his eye sockets crinkled with joy.
Ha! And Dream said my jetpack idea would never have any practical use.
Bright white energy gathered in the closed maw of the dragon-esque head before its jaws creaked open and a fiery beam unleashed, forming a large crater in the submerged land. The blast's force propelled Ink through the water like a torpedo.
Plus, nearly knocked the wind out of him in the process.
Water whirled around his shaking body. The sheer momentum the gaster blaster produced prevented each halfhearted attempt to change direction. (Luckily, he had enough foresight - for once in his life - to line up the shot ahead of time.) Everything his eyelights could see looked like someone set a motion blur image filter over it, causing him to close his eyes to avoid nausea. Pressure from the liquid pushing against him forced him to struggle to hold his hands in front of himself during the magic-fueled rush. Nevertheless, they managed to push out just enough for his phalanges to close around a squishy object as it smacked into his hands.
Stinging pain in the appendages followed shortly. Though the sensation was nowhere near strong enough to justify releasing whatever he had caught.
The Guardian of AUs pierced the surface of the water almost immediately after it fell into his grasp. His eyes flew open when he felt the cool air brush across his drenched clothes/bones, revealing the vast open skies above. Which quickly led him to realize how uncomfortably close some of the avian wildlife was. That did not last long, however. The force carrying him high slowed and then reversed, pulling him back toward the water with increasing speed. Faux green hair and a beige scarf flapped relentlessly in the wind alongside billowing clothes (overalls, coat, etc.).
A brilliant thought sparked in Ink's mind midway through the descent. Skeletal arms tucked his pain-inducing prize close to his sternum, and bony legs pulled over them as much as they could. Thus, making what one may call a crude-
"Cannonball!"
The cheer echoed across the sea. Native seagulls fled from their stony, ocean roosts in fright upon hearing the noise, whereas other sea-fowl couldn't be bothered unless a storm shook the waters. Meanwhile, the artist closed his eyes once more and allowed his attack-ridden back to face downward. It collided with the water first, dissipating into an inky black mess that once created a dragon-esque skull and dark bindings, all while spawning the waves of a tremendous splash. Large ripples arose around him as he sunk into the salty fluid.
Thereafter, Ink slowly opened his eye sockets, drew his legs downward, and began swimming back to above water. The squishy object in his hands remained clutched the entire time. The cannonball's waves had long since vanished by the time his upper body resurfaced, leaving no evidence of the wondrous feat.
Not that the soulless skeleton cared.
"Haha!" He laughed, continuing to paddle his legs to keep afloat. Water droplets dripped down his skull and surprisingly-not-dislodged kelp wig. A yellow sun and an orange rectangle glancing down at a familiar blue blob currently in the middle of attempting to strangle his phalanges.
I got him! Question marks briefly danced in his eye sockets, and his brow furrowed while proceeding to wonder, Do jellyfish have genders?
The Guardian of AUs mentally shrugged, holding up his vigorously struggling captive victoriously. "Well, I don't know, but I'm going to call you a boy anyway!"
As if the Gods themselves spited him, a wave two feet taller than himself swelled in the ocean behind and came barreling over him. The force of the water sweeping across his body knocked him down below the water's surface. Ink's limbs flailed ungracefully during his struggle to return to open-air, and the jellyfish in his unclenching hands got whisked into the unknown- much to his dismay.
He emerged with a gasp. His head bobbed above the water, seaweed hair dangling in his face and an empty hand paddling on his left and right. The colorful symbols housed in his eye sockets switched to a black skull and a blood-red crosshair.
"Oh, come on, AU! I'm only taking one jellyfish. There is no need to be mean."
I haven't even accidentally killed anything yet, he mentally grumbled. The AU has no reason to get huffy and try to kick me out.
A startled yelp tore through his throat as another cold wave slammed into the back of his skull, washing more seaweed in front of his eyelights; A deep pout formed along his jaws. First, the weird cowboy-mermaids chased him away. Now, this AU's sea was attacking him. Why were AUs so upset with him today?
His internal pondering came to an end when the loud chortling of seagulls caught his attention. Whether they were laughing at his misfortune or not, the artist couldn't decide. Eyelights taking the appearance of a green exclamation point and a blue hourglass darted in the direction of ear-grating caws. His sullen expression quickly turned into a grin upon spotting the menacing french fry scavengers, which was coincidentally where his prized jelly had washed to: a low, rocky outcropping poking off the island, housing many tide pools.
The white, black/grey accented birds surrounded the blue blob. Its tendrils lashed out at them, holding their hungry maws at bay. Despite the dire situation the jellyfish landed in, Ink felt a joy swelling in his paint-derived emotions that brought a warm-toned star and sun into his eye sockets.
This is perfect!
Though a moderate distance away, the artist could reach the shore in no time if he swam fast enough. And that precisely was what he planned to do.
Now, to retrieve my little jelly friend. He's going to love his new home, and I bet my shrimp will love having a new roommate!
Ink's grin widened in the ever-so-scary way that always sent Error running to the Anti-Void. A grin promising dubious morals and only the wear's satisfaction. However, the artist himself did not recognize it as the cause of the destroyer's sudden desire to escape him. Or anyone else's, for that matter. After all, who'd want to leave someone so fun? No one!
...Except, maybe, most of the Multiverse.
So, oblivious to the ominous feelings his smile instilled in others, he began toward the rocky tide pools where the sea critter laid. True to his intent, the land neared swiftly. Wet sands met with his feet as he trod beyond shoulder-height waters and felt the full force of gravity weighing down his thoroughly soaked attire. Little time passed before the soulless skeleton pushed himself onto the jagged grey-tan outcropping. Wings fluttered, and the sandwich-poaching flock ascended into the air at the approach, leaving only the jellyfish, various starfish, and sea urchins to keep him company.
Ink stopped in front of his target, looming over the creature while it shuttered and wiggled its pesky tendrils at him. His spine curved, both arms slowly reaching downward when-
"Ssssccccrrraaaa!"
Almost as soon as the animal cry sounded, a dark blur shot down from the sky and swatted the Guardian of AUs in the face- repeatedly, with long feathery appendages. He quickly hit back in retaliation, forearm knocking against a small body when it swung outward. His eye sockets rapidly blinked (containing an exclamation point and question mark), feet making a stuttering step back; Eyelights searching for his attacker.
Limp in the sand sat not a seagull, not a raven, but a crow. One of the two avian species he commonly mistook Reaper for (with seagull being the second). The raven-feather bird raised its head and hissed in Ink's direction, causing him to grimace.
"Why are there crows on this island? It's in the middle of nowhere!" He wondered aloud before turning inland, blinking at the sight of vast mountain ranges, plateaus, and forests past the sandy shores. "Okay. I guess it's more like a continent, but what continent isn't a giant island."
The artist reverted his attention to the real problem- i.e., the crow who clearly held some form of grudge against him or was just plain mean. Since glancing elsewhere, it had picked itself off the ground and moved behind the jellyfish with its wings spread over like a shield and black, beady eyes glaring. Daring anyone foolish enough to try to get between it and that which it protected.
Failing to receive the message, Ink crouched then outstretched a hand into the bird's space. A sharp nip at his phalanges brought it reeling back amidst a pained cry, "Gah!"
His face contorted in displeasure - eye sockets narrowing, nasal cavity wrinkling, jaws twitching downward. But the crow showed little care, firmly fixed to its spot and entirely unremorseful.
"Go away, stupid crow. Leave my poor jelly alone!" Huffing, the soulless skeleton swiped. His dark-feathered foe gave a flap of its wings and lifted into the air to dodge the long, sweeping motion.
Thus, leaving a particular unwilling prize unprotected.
Both lunged for the squishy glob, grabbing ahold of it with talons and phalanges, respectively; action devolving into a game of tug-o-war. Their rope being an unhappy jellyfish who was now attempting to remove each grabber using its tendrils.
He kept his hold steady, as did the crow, despite the increasingly uncomfortable sting.
"Ugh- Just... Gimme the jelly!" Ink grunted, struggling against the avian's (freakishly) strong pull.
Using a burst of strength, he yanked the jellyfish from its sharp talons, inadvertently injuring the sea creature but also liberating it (from a life of freedom). Though he did feel a little bad when his new c̶a̶p̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ friend released an odd shriek as the talons drew away and the scrapes along its top began to ooze a clear, light blue substance. The artist would have to patch it up after he escaped.
A raging, partially mortified squawk rang out across the beach thereafter. Ink jolted, wasting no time before bolting along the seaside in the direction that hopefully contained his vials and Broomie. A furious crow chased after him, all the while.
The simple wooden door to Ink's "humble" (and messy) abode flew open, startling the yellow-clad skeleton sitting on the couch inside. Freshly brewed tea sloshed out of Dream's cup as he jolted upward before jerking his head toward the entryway. A sight akin to something taken straight from a horror story's pages greeted him. Looming in the doorway was a dripping wet, seaweed-covered form - similar in shape and color to a skeleton - with black-oozing scrapes littering their bones and hiding beneath torn clothes. The being shook the thick clump of kelp off their head, revealing the one monster anyone could have or should have expected: Ink. A broad, triumphant grin laid across his jaws, and he paid no mind to the water dripping on the floorboards where he stood.
When Dream went to scold the eccentric artist for his manic entrance, his yellow eyelights caught sight of the squishy creature strangling his friend's phalanges. A creature he recognized to be mildly (and, in some cases, severely) poisonous to monsters. The tea mug in his hands instantly found itself placed on the coffee table while he rushed over to the other, fretting. "Oh my stars! Ink, are you okay?"
"Yup! Better than okay because I found a jelly." Ink said, holding up the sea critter. His usually colorful and diverse-shaped eyelights had long since settled on a pink heart and an inverted yellow heart, signaling his lack of distress.
Still, the Guardian of Positivity remained unconvinced. Hovering close by but not too close in case his friend suddenly decided he needed a face full of jellyfish.
"Are you sure? Does it sting? Do you need medical attention?" The yellow-clad skeleton frantically looked the other over, keeping an eyelight out for any unspoken injuries.
Ink did not answer at first and instead walked around Dream, waving off his concern like one would a fly, and made his way over to the fish tank sitting across the room. "Oh, it burns like hell! But I can easily heal myself after I get this little guy in his new home."
His strangles hands reached over the aquarium and forcefully pried the gelatinous being off, causing it to drop ungracefully into the water. The blob lashed its tendrils at the artist upon regaining its bearings. Then it moved to the edge of the tank and pushed against the glass, tendrils beating on the clear surface as if it wanted to grab or possibly strangle him.
A light frown tugged at Dream's teeth as he carefully crept up beside the Guardian of AUs. "It looks... unhappy."
Rather than seeing a problem with the jellyfish's emotional state, Ink exclaimed excitedly, "I know, right?! He reminds me of Error- so angsty, so full of unbridled rage." He paused for a moment as if thinking about something, adding in an equally cheery tone, "Here's hoping he doesn't eat my shrimp!"
"When Blue and I said you should get a pet, we at least thought you would take the job more responsibly." The yellow-clad skeleton murmured and shot a thoughtful look at the sea critter wiggling wildly at everything around it.
The poor thing was probably scared; For good reason, if Ink played a part in its abduction. Plus, who knew if the water temperate was correct or if it had enough salt content. Or if it could even coexist with the shrimp already curiously poking out from their hiding spots and inspecting their guest.
Dream bit back a sigh. If Ink wasn't going to do the proper research and take care of it, then the duty fell on him.
The Guardian of Positivity turned toward the door, quickly sparing a second to check the amount of G in his inventory. Seeing he had more than enough for what he planned, Dream strode across the room towards the open front door (because why would Ink ever remember to close a door) and came to a stop when a question reached his invisible ears.
"Where are you going? What about the meeting?"
He shifted to face the curious eyelights of his friend, replying, "The meeting can wait. Right now, I need to run to the nearest AU and pick up a new fish tank and food for the jellyfish."
"But he's already making friends with the shrimp!" The artist gestured toward the tank, directing Dream's attention to the ravenous creature within and shrimp it was terrorizing.
"No, he's eating them!"
With that said, the yellow garbed guardian bolted out the door with urgency and fear prevalent on his features- which ultimately left the shrimp and jellyfish alone with the one monster who had not business supervising anything other than a houseplant.
"It's okay, jelly. Fransqua wasn't my favorite." Ink said, giving the glass shielding the jellyfish an almost sympathetic pat. Then he blinked and drew his hand back before cupping his chin in thought. "Or was that Carol?"
In the end, the soulless skeleton shrugged and walked away, thus, abandoning his remaining shrimp to an untimely demise at the tendrils of their new housemate.